The Art Show.

Doing an art or craft show you never know how they will turn out.

Will you have everything ready for the show?

Will people be drawn to your look at your art or even buy it ?

It’s always an mystery to me how these events will turn out.

Then someone asked me, what am I looking to get of this show.

Money?

Exposure?

Really, why do you do these shows?

What would make a great show for you ?

I recently did the Hand of Man Art and Craft show in Peterborough this last weekend. I thought to myself, why did I do this show? What to me was success?

First, I thought it was all about money—the more money you made, the more successful you were. Yes, money is important because that is how you exist in this world. Let’s not fool ourselves. I am not a bohemian or like or want to be labelled a starving artist. I am happy to make just enough money to support my passion. The element of success was people and the inspiration they gave me.

I was ecstatic when my work could inspire a conversation. A conversation not about me but about the experience of the person. How are their lives related to a piece of work I created? How a visual image can make a connection between two total strangers. As an artist, if I can relate to a person with my art, I have done what I set out to do. Connecting is important to me. I have chosen to be an artist because my language is visual, that is how I communicate. I feel connected when a person understands that expression or if I can create an emotion. Art galleries are the quietest places in the world, but the conversation and communication between the viewer and the art are very loud, which has always intrigued and inspired me.

I spend my life as an observer and imaginer. I watch what surrounds me and translate that into a visual expression. To me, the purpose of art is to connect with the human experience or the imagination or to make the human experience think about itself, and if I can do that at a show, I have begun very successfully. People genuinely inspire me. People are planets in the universe, each one unique and new.

This weekend, I heard many impassioned stories. It is an honour to share their stories and experiences, which is why I do shows.